10-17-12
Hamilton Elementary in La Crosse will begin a new, year round school program this summer after it was approved by the School Board Monday night.
Instead of having 3 months of summer vacation students will have 5 and-a-half weeks off and quarterly breaks.
Teachers have been talking with parents about the pros and cons of the year long school session for a long time and many seem to be thrilled.
Parents may be all for it but the kids might have a different opinion, at least at first.
There will be 3 quarterly breaks called "intersessions". Each break will consist of 15 days. Part of the break students can go to the school in the morning to get breakfast, lunch and catch up on schoolwork. In the afternoon Boys and Girls club has paired up with the school to offer service.
The school board only approved of the program for 3 years. If there is significant improvement in the learning gap and it’s not financially too costly the school will likely stay year round.
School officials are unsure on how much the extra cost may be to keep the school open during the summer.
